Murray’s big band wasn’t that big — only 11 players — but the lineup was absolutely stacked: Olu Dara on cornet, Baikida Carroll on trumpet, Vincent Chancey on flugelhorn, Craig Harris on trombone, Bob Stewart on tuba, Steve Coleman on soprano and alto saxes, John Purcell on alto sax and clarinet, Rod Williams on piano, Fred Hopkins on bass, Billy Higgins on drums, and Lawrence “Butch” Morris conducting them. There’s a little bit of Ellingtonian swing, a little bit of New Orleans polyphony, and a whole lot of Murray soloing with the band swaying behind him.

– Phil Freeman